I'm Sorry
by yuki-nakayama-hidaka
Summary: People can be sorry for many things - Disclaimer - I Don't own them!
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **I'm Sorry  
**Pairing:** Izumo x Kotetsu  
**Genre(s): **Romance/General  
**Summary: **People can be sorry for a lot of things  
**Rating: **PG-15  
**Warning: **It's a light Male Male relationship thing.

AN: I've wanted to do one (Iz x Ko) for ages... and I haven't had time to do anything recently... Hope you guys like!

**Chapter 1**

"I'm sorry..."

Izumo Kamizuki didn't realise what his best friend Kotetsu Hagane meant when he said those words just before he went to bed. They made no sense when he woke in the morning to find their shared apartment empty, nor when he showed up at Tsunade's office only to find Kotetsu's desk devoid of their customary paperwork.

Izumo stood in the middle of their "office" staring at the empty desk. Something wasn't right.

Kotetsu would not vanish without telling him - they were after all, best friends and would always tell each other when something came up. Even if it was a secret mission, there was always some warning - but then again, they never went on missions without each other as it was recognised by most that they were the perfect team.

"Izumo - come in please..."

It was Shizune's voice that brought his thoughts back to reality. "Sorry...?" He asked not having quite caught what the Shizune had said. "Come." Was all she said as she gave him a soft look before turning on her heals and striding into Tsunade's office.

Sighing Izumo shook his head and followed her. There was something nagging at him but he couldn't pin the feeling.

Upon entering Tsunade's office, the nagging feeling turned into a sinking one as he viewed the other occupants of the room. He viewed the two Anbu standing either side of Tsunade's desk, and the other 2 situated by the window. Shizune had moved to stand in the middle of the room which is where Izumo found himself standing.

Tsunade sat before him, her elbows on the desk, hands clenched - pressed against her chin, hiding her lips. Izumo knew from that stance that whatever was on her mind, or whatever she was going to say was something he knew he did not want to know or hear about. He watched her as the anxious energy within him began to build. He watched her as the fine lines on her face wrinkled, showing her obvious discomfort for whatever she was about to say or do.

Although only a few seconds had passed, but it felt like an eternity to Izumo.

"I'm sorry..."

Those words had Izumo reeling. Tsunade was saying sorry... but for what? He couldn't quite grasp the reasoning.

"Hokage - sama?" He asked - a thousand questions asked in a simple intonation.

He watched as Tsunade lowered her hands from her face and let them fall loosely into her lap.

"I sent Kotetsu on a mission last night and..."

Izumo couldn't hear anything else she said after she delivered her news. He was numb - from the brain down. Everything stopped functioning - his hearing, this thoughts, his sight his breathing... He was crumbling from the inside out.

Kotetsu was... He was....

-Thuthump thuthump - thuthump thuthump - thu-thump -thu - thump - thump - ...... thump..... thum....

He didn't hear the cry of Shizune, or the arms of the Anbu member who caught him as his body failed him and went crashing towards the ground. His world ceased to exist in mear seconds.

Kotetsu had taken a mission meant for him. One which should have been simple, but was an ambush. They said that there was a bloody fight, with only 2 out of 5 survivors. Kotetsu was not one of them. They couldn't sense his chakra nor find his body... Their searches turned out to be fruitless, but were very extensive. They informed Izumo that a funeral would be held the following day, and that they were sorry for his loss.

They told Izumo that they were sorry.


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm Sorry - Chapter 2**

Kotetsu lay on his side, his eyes still attempting to adjust to the small dark cell he found himself in. All he could remember was the ambush - having the living daylights beaten out of him, then waking up locked up in some hole. His body still ached, and he made a mental checklist of what was broken, bruised - and possibly fractured.

Shifting onto his back, he heard a sickening crack and his body gave a loud involuntary gurgle of pain. Trying not to breath too deeply, he realised he had broken one of his fractured ribs.

Closing his eyes, he wished away the fuzzy blackness surrounding the edges of his vision. He tried to think of anything - or anyone to make his world stop spinning.

Izumo....

Yes... At least Izumo was not here in his place... He would have never forgiven himself if Izumo had wound up in his current predicament. He knew Izumo was not a push over, and was a talented as any other fighter, it was just that he felt Izumo was more the calculating kind and he the brawns. They were ying and yang so to speak - and this mission more suited for him than his companion.

Companion... Best friend... Could they have possibly been more? Kotetsu gave the darkness a wry grin. Perhaps... If his friend felt the same. "I guess..." he hissed, "I'll never know..."

Kotetsu's attention was quickly caught as he heard the cell door being unlocked. He dared to open an eye to see who or what was coming for him. In that instant he wished he hadn't as a foot made swift connection with his already damaged ribs. His growl of pain echoed in the small cell.

I'm sorry...

The next time Kotetsu heard the door open, he couldn't open his eyes to see who his attacker was. All he could do was lie there as he couldn't find the energy to move to defend himself. He was utterly helpless and vulnerable.

There was a pause before hurried footsteps approached him. He didn't brace himself for what he was sure was about to come - a foot - a fist.... However, when nothing came, he was sure that his life was over.

He hissed and flinched when a gentle soft hand touched his rough swollen face. A touch so foreign yet so familiar that it scared him. It retracted as quickly as it had come, followed by a voice full of mixed relief and disbelief. "Ko-Kotetsu!"

"Am... I.... dead?" Kotetsu ground out from clenched teeth. There was no immediate answer, just wetness falling in drops onto his face. "No." was the choked response. "I'm so sorry..." Kotetsu just snorted and tried his best to smile. In no time, the medic nins located Kotetsu and Izumo and began patching Kotetsu up enough to move him. Izumo insisted that he was the one to bring Kotetsu home, and all returned swiftly to the village.

On their return, Izumo kept a vigil over Kotetsu at the Hospital. He made sure his friend knew exactly what he meant to him - and that he was an idiot to boot. Kotetsu had grinned and had told Izumo that he felt the same way - and that he too thought Izumo was an idiot.

"Why am I an idiot?!" Izumo asked.

"Because you love me." Kotetsu smirked making Izumo laugh. "You have a point."

"So you love me?" Kotetsu smiled with a raised eyebrow. "Baka..." Izumo smirked planting a light kiss on Kotetsu's lips.

"I know- I'm sorry."


End file.
